Social Action Project Portrush Skatepark U 31 Social

Social Action Project – Portrush Skatepark U 31: Social Action & Community Media Production Units 1: 2, 1: 3, 31: 1. 31: 2, 31: 3, 3: 2 My Pitch – Alex Mc. Closkey S

Idea and Background Information S In the Coleraine triangle area (Coleraine, Portrush & Portstewart) there has been huge demand in the communities for a Skatepark for the youth as the sport is very popular and has a huge following yet no area has been dedicated by the council for this commonplace sport. S On countless occasions in the past 30 years or more there have been promises by the Coleraine Borough Council to create the park. S Even with huge amounts of funds raised and promises made, newspaper articles announcing the developments and promises by council members that the park would be made, plans have always fallen through while the council have progressed with plans to spend huge funds on other sports and interests in the communities. S The campaigning for a park is at an all time high due to the constantly increasing popularity of the sport and therefore the skatepark’s creation is seeming more likely than ever after so many promises. S A community group called CAUS are the main campaigners for the park, meeting with the council, petitioning and gathering data and information from the public and those involved in urban sports. They would greatly appreciate some form of video promotion and support for their cause and I would be glad to provide this through my social action.

Contributors S Due to partaking in the sport and going to high school in the area, I know a majority of the main voices and campaigners for the park to be made quite well, this includes local youth, other people who skate, youth workers, park designers and the workers and owner of the local skate shop which has been around since the beginnings of the skate scene in Portrush. S Also, one worker at the shop is on NI’s first skateboard company’s team (Develop Skateboards) and could provide a lot of insight into the professional side of the sport and how it is growing in the country. S I know these people well and I am confident that they would all be happy to get more attention on the issue and would be comfortable talking about it to me and promoting the park.

Facilities S I feel that the skate/surf shop would provide an interesting setting for the interviews and would like to hope that they would allow me to use their shop for this purpose. S I would also like to see if one interview could take place in a local café. I feel that due to my connections, planning all of this would be relatively straightforward and easy to organise. S I will use my home personal computer, along with the NWRC’s Macs to edit my footage and would use Final Cut Pro as editing software.

Equipment & Budget S I would need one DSLR camera, a tripod and maybe some form of lighting for the project which all could easily be obtained from the college. S The best outcome would to be capable of renting out the equipment over a weekend and plan all interviews, shots and footage to be filmed on one/two of the days of the weekend to maximize the efficiency of our opportunity and time with the equipment.

Precautions and Safety S The main precaution would be that some shots may be weather dependant, for example, it will be much more difficult to film skateboarders in the rain and much fewer would be out in this weather, yet I don’t doubt that due to having numerous weeks to complete the project and many friends who film skating in the area, I could have at least one day to film the actual sport in decent weather or to get footage from a friend. All other shots can be done indoors. S Another precaution would be to ensure that my equipment stays safe if filming near the sport, I will ensure that everyone participating in filming is aware of the camera and will do my utmost to keep the equipment safe.